By Geoff Smith

Testing required for Battleford water connection to North Battleford

Aug 2, 2016 | 12:02 PM

A number of tests will have to take place before a new pipeline sources Battleford’s water for North Battleford.

Construction was expected to be complete by today, Aug. 2. However, Patrick Boyle, a spokesperson for the Water Security Agency, said water from the line will require tests that are roughly 24 to 48 hours apart. He expects water from the line would not be added to North Battleford’s system until the testing process is complete.

“It’s part of the normal process that we require as a regulator to a number of those bacteriological testings,” Boyle said. “So you’re testing for a number of parameters in there and bacteria. It would be something that’s within our drinking water guidelines.”

North Battleford’s reservoirs have been holding up well after the F.E. Holliday Water Treatment Plant was closed July 23, following an oil leak into the North Saskatchewan River. The city is relying on treated groundwater. A special city council meeting was planned for this evening. to sign an agreement to buy extra water available from the town of Battleford, which uses groundwater only.

Longer-term solutions continue to be looked at, including additional wells and a pre-treatment process for river water. Ash Olesen, an official with the Ministry of Environment, said early test results on the contamination could be released to the public by tomorrow. The interim results are still being analyzed, and would be reported to municipalities and other stakeholders first. But Olesen didn’t feel the water would prove to be particularly dangerous.

Fond Memories

North Stars' 20-year-olds reflect on junior hockey experience: Part 1

16h ago

Trades in Sask.

Skilled trades need not limited to building homes

Apr 17, 2024

Battlefords Volleyball Club

13U BVC Impact take provincial silver in Warman

Apr 17, 2024

“I would suggest that the little that I know is that is far closer to the good side of the scale than the bad side,” Olesen said. He said so far a total of more than 1,200 samples were taken with more than 900 analyzed and over 250 results received.

It’s estimated that 133,000 litres of oil has been removed from the river, but Olesen said it wasn’t known how much remained. It was estimated that between 200,000 and 250,000 litres of blended crude initially leaked from a pipeline. Olesen said it was unlikely they would be able to recover all of it, but there is some degradation.

Eleven booms remain in place along the river, including one at the North Battleford intake, and another at a natural eddy on the east side of the city.

There have been 58 confirmed wildlife deaths as a result of the leak.

Geoff Smith is battlefordsNOW’s News Director, business and agriculture reporter. He can be reached at gsmith@jpbg.ca or tweet him @smithco.